Jew-DAHHHH (Ga-ga?) May 18, 2011
Posted by Doug Hanna in Opinion, Theology.6 comments
Every time Lady Gaga says words stuff gets crazy, and her new single and music video, Judas, is not an exception. I heard about the subject-matter of the song and felt the Father’s Call, as a Christian, to give it a listen. Disciples should be educated on what Satan or sin is up to, so we can recognize it when we do see it. The following is my opinion.
Let’s start out with just the song, ignoring the video for the time being. The basic concept, is Judas girlfriend, lover, wife, or whatever, (Gaga) still loves him after he betrays Jesus. This is entirely possible. Today, many people leave the church because their spouse or significant other do. If the songwriter was trying to create a Christian impact, they would probably of tied it all up the end with something or other about this not being the one straight path.
The song also discusses some topics, such as Judas and Gaga being unforgivable, which is entirely wrong – JESUS WANTS TO FORGIVE US ALL, AND WE ALL NEED FORGIVENESS, EVEN THOUGH NONE OF US DESERVE IT.
The song’s chorus starts with “I’m just a Holy fool, oh baby he’s so cruel, but I’m still in love with Judas, baby.” Excuse me? Can you say that again, Gaga? (And I’m not just asking you to repeat it because it’s the catchiest part of the song, I’m asking you to repeat it because IT’S ENTIRELY WRONG.) It’s backwards! Jesus is not cruel. He came to Earth to die for us. He is the OPPOSITE of cruel, he’s self-sacrificing. It is possible, the song isn’t clear, that this line “he’s so cruel,” refers to Judas. In which case, the line not only has awful grammar, but is also wrong. Judas was not cruel, but at the time of the betrayal he was self-serving. (The opposite of Jesus!)
Now, what about that “main topic,” is it okay to still love Judas, even though he betrayed the Lord? In the song, Gaga claims to be a follower of Christ. (“Jesus is my virtue…”) Everything we are unwilling to give up is an idol, and idolatry is the root of all sin. However, we should still love him – JUST NOT IN THAT WAY. Judas is a creation of the Lord, and because of that, we should love him.
However, should we/she engage in a romantic relationship with him? Judas, still a follower of Christ, went through quite a hard time after the Death of the Lord. (He killed himself, if you’ve forgotten.) Maybe he needed fellowship in Christ during that hard time. Maybe that would have stopped him from taking his own life? But regardless, the focus of the relationship of Gaga and Judas should be on Christ. (Because based on Lady Gaga’s other music, I am not led to believe she’s referring to the kind of love the Bible describes in 1 Corinthians 13.)
Musically, the song is stupid. It is comprised of several parts (Verse, chorus, bridge) that really don’t even fit together at all. They’re thrown together. Songwriters should never do something like that because it takes you out of the immersive experience of listening. As a filmmaker, I could appreciate some of the cinematic elements of the video, but I was not pleased.
The sexual and feminized versions of the Passion of our Lord presented in the video are absolutely disgusting. Such as Christ’s crown of thorns being a dainty tiara held in place by dreadlocks or braids, or Christ sitting in a hottub with Gaga, being licked, enrage me, because I know that the suffering that the Lord went through was extreme, and should never be undermined, because that was His gift to us. The crown of thorns was not a hat of leaves. It was a wreath of nails. Those dug inches into Christ’s brain.
Some of the other images with the song are quite distasteful, such as the single’s album art, a cross with a heart in it. That “heart,” does not belong on the cross until you’re ready to nail it there and sacrifice it – kill it.
If I were a parent, this is certainly not the song I would want my child singing along to, and knowing all the words of. Children do not think about deep meanings of songs, generally. If a child hears this song now, they’ll accept it without question – because they don’t know what it is about. As they grow older, that song might stay on their iPod for a few years. They might hear it again when they’re eighteen, thinking about ending an unhealthy relationship, and just might not, because Gaga didn’t do it. They might not end an unholy relationship because of this either. Outside of the scope of relationships too – they might not kick a bad habit that might be their “Judas.”
Recently, I’ve been doing quite a bit of thinking about where I’m called to serve Christ, and although I often say how clear I am of His Will, I’ve been questioning lately. I’ve been hearing other whispers, and not known where they came from; God, Doug, or Satan? But every time I hear a song like this, or I see a boy wear a skirt on the Disney Channel, or I hear Elle say “Oh my god!” in Legally Blonde, I feel the burden of the moral decline that comes from media. I feel that burden, and I feel the call to make my own little dent in that moral decline. Bring it up a bit. Right now, I’m more clear then ever in what God calls me to. (I don’t know if I can make a music video as weird as some of Gaga’s stuff, and I don’t know if Gaga has God with her; but I know that I do, so whatever I do will turn out exactly the way it is supposed to.)
Secrets May 16, 2011
Posted by Doug Hanna in Random Musings.add a comment
I’m horrible at keeping them.
Really. I tweet about things before their official announcement, I tell close friends secret plans before I’m ready to set them into action… I just have some desire… whenever I have a secret of my own, I hate keeping it secret. (I can keep other people’s secrets just fine, though.)
The best secret I’ve ever kept was my (almost famous) decision to get a haircut, I didn’t tell anyone. (And it made everyone’s reactions that much funnier.) But even still then, my mother knew, and the woman that was cutting my hair knew.
Whenever I have a secret, I need to let someone else know. And now I have a secret, and based on my stats, no one actually reads this blog (lol) so I’ll tell YOU.
There’s a girl. And despite my recent history with girls, which you don’t need to know about, and despite the fact that I said I’d “stay away from dating” for a while, and despite the fact that I didn’t finish the last glass of orange juice I poured… there’s a girl. I know her through Church, and I feel God telling me that this is alright (But the last girl that I met at Church… that was bad… but now it’s actually kind of funny.)
I’m mayor of my Parish on Foursquare.
I’ve been on Foursquare lately. Have I told you? Friend me.
But I’m mayor of the Church on Foursquare. And she knows it. And somehow or other… she thinks it’s kind of cool.
I feel us growing closer, and there’s just something about her. She tells me that she likes my hair shorter, and that I shouldn’t grow it out again. That was the last secret I kept. And I kept that one pretty good. So for now, this will just be our secret. (Don’t tell anyone!)
3-D!!! January 31, 2011
Posted by Doug Hanna in Random Musings.add a comment
I can’t stand it.
I do not understand this renaissance of 3-D that we’re experiencing now, and I am incredibly angered as I see 3-D leave the movie theaters, and come into consumer electronics. (In my professional opinion, 3-D belongs in theme parks and the eighties.)
As a filmmaker, many people would probably expect me to say “I love 3-D! It adds a whole new dimension to filmmaking! (Literally!)” But it just takes the viewers attention away from the picture! 3-D forces viewers to focus on one or two particular objects. People don’t see the background, they don’t notice it. If this 3-D craze were to continue (more on that in a sec) filmmakers would become more and more lazy, and the quality of films would go down majorly.
So is 3-D a craze?
NO!!!!! STOP BUYING 3-D TELEVISIONS AND CAMCORDERS AND ALL THAT OTHER JUNK!
Ahem.
It’s a fad, JUST LIKE IT WAS IN THE 70′S AND 80′S!!! Let’s use common sense here people! 3-D WAS big, then it died, then it comes back, it’s big… (Complete the pattern.)
Do not want.
Anniversary January 19, 2011
Posted by Doug Hanna in Doug News.1 comment so far
Tomorrow is my anniversary.
No, I’m not dating anyone. I’m not married, either.
Two years ago tomorrow I found Jesus Christ.
Time flies so incredibly fast, it seems like last month I struggled with suicide and depression. Or last week that I didn’t believe a “God” could ever exist. It seems like yesterday was January 19, 2009, and I was choking back tears from the Eternal Joy I had been missing.
I recounted the story a bit in my last post here, so I’ll be brief with that point. But the most important thing that ever happened to me, was during that night, when I got down onto the floor, on my knees. I put my hands together and said, “uh… Hi God…”
But I was stopped.
Before I could ever make an intelligent thought, before I could beg for forgiveness from my sins of the past years of my life, or plead for happiness in life, God interjected. “Welcome home Doug. Today, all the angels and saints are rejoicing because you’ve returned. Now go to bed, we have big plans for you.”
I can’t even think of that event without tearing up. God loved me so much, and He had such a frank way of saying it. He WANTED me to believe in Him, to have a relationship with Him, to live in His Divine Will. And, then, what’s more?! He said He had plans! Big plans! (Of course, I know now that every plan God makes is big. Even the ones that are small.)
For so long I was lost. Fumbling and tripping my way through darkness, I had a candle, but it wasn’t lit.
When I opened my doors for Jesus I not only made a turning point in my life, but it was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the happiest moment I have ever lived. It’s the kind of moment that will not be triumphed in terms of awesome until I meet Jesus in His Kingdom: When I can throw my arms around Him into a big hug.
I haven’t been perfect, not by any sense of the word, but I’m always improving. Always striving to become closer to that Light… that Marvelous Light that reached so far into the darkness to pull me up.
For two years I have been in an active relationship with Jesus.
I haven’t looked back, and I haven’t been happier.
God’s Will (But Seriously This Time) January 7, 2011
Posted by Doug Hanna in Random Musings.add a comment
In a few weeks the date January 19, 2011 will mark two years that I have known Christ.
On January 19, 2009, I stayed up late into the night, reading Me, Myself, and Bob by Phil Vischer. I finished the book, cried, thought, and then… prayed. For the first time in my life I prayed. Throughout that first experience I was nervous. I put my sweaty palms together and weaved my fingers in between each other, locking those hands together. I got down on my knees and I remember our dialogue perfectly.
I said, “uh… Hi God…” and He said to me, “Welcome home Doug. Today, all the angels and saints are rejoicing because you’ve returned. Now go to bed, we have big plans for you.”
Whoa…
A few months later I made a video called Where Is My Tiger? The video that would turn into Blue Squid Productions.
Since that fateful Winter night, I’ve read Me, Myself, and Bob countless times, tonight, I just finished it for the billionth, and no matter how many times I hear that “True Story About God, Dreams, and Talking Vegetables” I still learn more each time.
God knows what He wants from me, and therefore, what I do with my life is none of my business. A lot of the stupid things that have come out of Blue Squid Productions this year, (The “new focus,” “Paul’s Prank,” etc.) did not come from the Will of God. They came from me, a flawed human who gets too excited sometimes.
Upon reflecting I thought, “I’m going to have to end Blue Squid Productions… This creative outlet that has been there for me for nearly two years now, and changed my life immeasurably, is done. I need to move on.”
I didn’t know what I would be moving onto, but God spoke a bit clearer then. The idea is not to give up Blue Squid Productions, which came from Him, but to make sure it stays with Him.
It goes something like this: God brought Blue Squid Productions into my life, and I snatched it from Him. I did my own thing with it – AND THAT WAS WRONG!!! I don’t need to leave Blue Squid Productions, I need to bring God back into it. God is in it still, in the sense that I pop in and pray, and put a Bible verse at the end of my videos, but some of these concepts come from Doug. Not God.
Ideas develop in my wonderful brain that God gave me. Concepts birth from my little human fancy. Those aren’t the videos I want to make, those aren’t the stories I want to tell. I have no right to claim that my life or my ministry are for God, when I don’t give the Man any say!
That’s what it needs to be about now. I don’t want to do some crummy video “for God,” I want to create an amazing video with God.
Miley Cyrus Hits The Bong December 18, 2010
Posted by Doug Hanna in Random Musings.add a comment
For those of you living under a rock, at Disney Channel star, Miley Cyrus’ eighteenth birthday she smoked a bong a salvia. A friend caught it on camera, and sold his video to the website TMZ.
Old news, I know. But new opinions.
Today, I saw a news show that my father was watching report that kids are trying to find salvia for themselves, just because Miley did it. I can’t find any reports of this online, but I know it must be true to some extent. Kids don’t know what to do, they need someone to look up to, an example. Their parents might work for a while, but parents become “geeks” in the tween stage. When Miley Cyrus hit the scene, she had an image of a dainty little small-town girl who reflected the greatest values. That’s not true at all. Her father was a best-selling country artist.
Here’s the thing: kids didn’t look up to Miley Cyrus, they looked up to Miley Stewart, who Miley portrayed on the Disney Channel sitcom, Hannah Montana. It’s not uncommon at all for a star to portray a character that shares their name. Everyone who performs under their own name in any situation (Especially when someone else is writing the script.) is performing a different character to some extent. I know that I do that.
“Doug” is a character, who just happens to share my name. He’s not a lot like me at all. I am myself when I do vlogs and stuff, but in other videos, Doug is Kermit the Frog.
Anydoodles, kids look up to a character, which is understandable, and the portrayer of that character does something bad, kids want to do that bad thing too.
This reflects the responsibility that children’s entertainers have. We need to think, we can’t tweet the way Kanye West does. (Sometimes I deliberate long and hard about tweets.) We can’t be perfect, but we have to be darn close to it.
I was sick yesterday and decided to watch a Disney Channel film. I admired the brand that Disney Channel has, they have a pool of performers that they use for everything, and kids love it. In a way, its kind of what I want to do with Blue Squid Productions. I want a brand with a collection of characters that can be used for anything. (More like the Muppets then Disney Channel.)
As Christians, if you are a Christian reader, as I assume most of my readers are, because I… direct Christian films, we can’t censor what kids are watching, and we shouldn’t try, but we can do two things SUPPLEMENT it, and DISCUSS it.
Supplement it with wholesome media, Christian shows. For every episode of Hannah Montana they watch, show them a VeggieTales video (Or, more preferably, a Blue Squid Productions video!)
Discuss it as Christians. Talk with your kids about what they’ve watched, and explain why it should/shouldn’t be listened to. Hannah Montana can tell the kids that you won’t be happy until you have a boyfriend, you tell your kids that Jesus didn’t have a boyfriend… or a girlfriend.
Christians are fighting a losing battle against old media, but we’re going to win in the end. They might have Mickey Mouse leading their army, but we’ve got God on our side.
And thus ends the long-rambly blog post about nothing and everything.
Music November 7, 2010
Posted by Doug Hanna in Random Musings.add a comment
I’m the kind of guy who has a new favorite song every week. Before, filmmaking, music and songwriting were my main creative outlets. There was actually a time in my life were I wrote over three songs a week. (Never recorded a lot of them, and most of them sounded the same or didn’t sound good, but I WROTE A LOT!)
Music is a big part of who I am. I sing or air-drum or beat box or hum or whistle almost endlessly, but I actually hated music as a kid. I’d watch The Muppet Show or a Disney movie with my family and practically fall asleep during the songs. I hated music. I didn’t listen to music ever, I listened to books on tape. Then I started to perform in theatre and someway I found the amazing-ness of music.
Songwriting has always been a great way to express myself, especially now that I’ve learned so many different styles. I’ve even tried my hand at writing opera a few times. (I’ve probably mentioned before, I have several half-finished scores lying around my studio. Some of them are concepts that I will never let go of, so SOMEDAY there will be a libretto with my name at the top!)
The other day I was confused about something, so I turned my iPod on shuffle and in about two minutes I had learned something from Hilary Duff. (Insert joke about me having a Hilary Duff album here.)
It relaxes, it teaches, it motivates, it allows me to express myself.
It’s music: and it’s pretty freaking awesome.
My Cat October 14, 2010
Posted by Doug Hanna in Random Musings.1 comment so far
Blog? Blog who?
Oh yeah! THAT blog!
Yes! It has been a while, and I am so sorry for leaving you behind bloggie. I’ve been so busy!! Everything that’s been going on and keeping me busy is either boring or shouldn’t be talked about. (I’ve recently began preparation to start my second business.)
I promise to post on you again!… STARTING NOW!!!
Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about my cat, (His name is Binky.) and my relationship with him.
I’ve never been the world’s best pet-owner, but it seems I’ve always got an animal living with me. I also have a frog. His name is Bakery. (And yes, I know, it IS the best name!)
I talk to myself an awful lot, and that’s because I’m crazy. But I also talk to my cat, which is probably more healthy.
I call him my friend, and he is. I love my cat. He really brightens days a lot for me. Raised the guy up from a kitten, and we’ve helped each other through hard times and made them good times.
We’ve changed each other’s lives, him and I. For the better, no doubt, but I feel our friendship… losing its luster?
He meows when he wants to be let out or fed, so I do those things.
We used to cuddle up and sleep together, (You don’t need to point it out in the comments, because I already know that that’s what she said.) but I suppose he outgrew that.
Maybe its not him. Maybe it’s ME!
I feel like a bad friend, a despite the aforementioned busy-ness of my life, I want to spend more time with him. Put the foot forward to be a better friend.
And that is hard.
It’s hard because I can’t text him and ask him if he wants to hang out. I can’t follow him on Twitter or friend him on Facebook. I need to actually be with him in reality. Not that I have issues being with PEOPLE in reality, but the communication that takes place digitally really helps us get together IRL.
I’ll keep you updated.
And these 366 words have wasted about two minutes of your life.
FRED: The Movie! September 19, 2010
Posted by Doug Hanna in Random Musings.add a comment
Did you happen to catch FRED: The Movie last night on Nickelodeon!? I DID!! (And if you missed it, you can catch it again tonight, check your local listings, and probably a dozen times after that within the week.)
I loved the film, and give it a weak “A” letter grade, because it had some negative points.
I feel that the opening dragged a bit. That might just be because a feature film requires, and allows for, more exposition then a YouTube video, but as a viewer, I’m accustomed to seeing Fred jump right into the action.
According to studio executives, kids like to watch shows starring teenagers (Hence, the success of Hannah Montana, and whatnot.) so the people at Nick decided it would be a good idea to make the film take place nine years after the world of the YouTube videos, but pretend that it didn’t. (It is a known fact that Fred Figglehorn in six years old, but in the film, Fred attended “Lawrence Middle School” and said that he was fifteen, another error, since most fifteen year old kids aren’t in middle school.)
That might of been a mistake by the film’s creative team (Lucas Cruikshank, writer/director/star of all the FRED videos, didn’t have a writing credit.) or might of just been their obseassiveness to “appeal to viewers.” But a big newsflash for tunnel vision studio execs – kids do not only watch older characters. Fred’s YouTube channel has over one million subscribers, clearly they will want to watch someone YOUNGER!
Viewers fell in love with a six year old Fred, and Nick forced a fifteen year old Fred on us.
The voice of Fred, which is a very well known sound, was lower. This might be because so many people are annoyed by the character’s voice, or it might of been a creative decision, based on the nine years (and puberty) that have passed.
When the film began, I noticed its TV-G rating, it seems that it was a little censored (Which is odd, because FRED has a rating of TV-Y, which is more kid-friendly.) For instance, Fred never mentioned that his dad was in prison. He said “my dad isn’t here, but he isn’t dead.” That could mean a divorce! The same thing happened with Fred’s mom. Her alcoholism was implied, but never spelled it out.
There were some other continuity errors, that most people wouldn’t of noticed, I won’t go into those.
But, aside from its downsides, the film was great. It was funny, and stayed generally true to the character of Fred Figglehorn. Lucas Cruikshank is a new media pioneer. He was one of the first (If not the first) YouTubers to get into wide merchandising (With Hot Topic).
I really hope Cruikshank stays where he is, in new media. I can’t say I’d be wholly behind a FRED television show, unless Lucas had full creative control, which he would never get, because he’s seventeen. In the future, I see Lucas bouncing to old media a bit, but sticking with new media for the most part.
I hope he does stay with new media. He should! It’s a great platform, and its where he belongs. It is the future, and I hope Cruikshank has enough sense to stay with it.
EDIT – I kind of focused on the negatives of the film, which I shouldn’t of, since it was hacking amazing! But I do want to point out – my least favorite part of the film was Fred’s new catch phrase – “Gammit.” He should of said what he always has, “Garnit!” which is funnier. (And, it properly replaces the… *looks around, whispers…* the D-word…)
Note To Self September 14, 2010
Posted by Doug Hanna in Random Musings.add a comment
I’m editing Spilt Milk, and one thing that’s glaring at me is that I shouldn’t set all my cinematography and camera angles before I shoot.
I should do that on set, when I can see the actors in the environment. This, of course, means a lot less of me in the actual videos.
Spilt Milk, the new focus, and everything in my career so far, has been a learning process. As I said in episode 9 of The SquidCast, I thought I was great, when I was just barely good, so my films started to suck massively. I’m still learning what works, what doesn’t, and how to make these films look awesome.
On a completely unrelated note, I’ve been thinking a lot recently about me, as a musician.
I want to become more a rapper. I’ve been writing some raps with a more serious tone, and want to do them up right. That means no beat-boxing. Drums and whatnot. I’ve been working on some tracks, and its really fun! I’m trying to figure out the best way to share them with you guys.
Now, back to editing! Gotta get this thing done by Thursday!
